Sitharaman says unimaginable jump in global fertiliser prices, seeks focus on '3Fs'

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman warns of an "unimaginable jump" in global fertiliser prices due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, affecting commodity prices and common people.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that there has been an unimaginable jump in the global fertiliser prices after the West Asia crisis.

Echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's austerity call, she asked people to focus on '3Fs' -- fuel, fertiliser and forex -- in the current scenario.

Speaking at the 37th foundation day event of Sidbi here, the finance minister said the West Asia crisis is not just a diplomatic or geopolitical issue, but it is also leading to a far-reaching impact on the common people and small businesses, and also becoming a challenge for countries, including India.

The crisis, which started with the US-Israel joint attack on Iran in late February, has continued for 80-90 days and led to an impact on commodity prices, she said.

The crude prices have been high and fluctuating for nearly three months since the conflict began, while the fertiliser prices are also elevated.

There has been an ''unimaginable increase'' in the fertiliser prices, she said.

The minister said that gold prices have also gone high, and explained that purchasing the precious metal leads to a reduction in the country's foreign exchange reserves.

This makes it very important to focus on the 3Fs of fuel, fertiliser, and forex in the current context, she said.

''The West Asia crisis is not only a diplomatic or geopolitical issue. For businesses and common people, it can mean higher fuel costs, delayed cargo, costlier shipping, shortage of inputs, pressure on working capital and uncertainty in export orders,'' the FM said, adding that so many uncertainties are leading to challenges in business planning for small enterprises.